Windhorse Imports
                     Tibetan art and Buddhist ritual objects
           PO Box 2687, Swindon SN4 7ZQ, United Kingdom
 
          Tel: 01793 855839   Email: sales@windhorse.co.uk

                                             

 


How to set up a shrine

Simple Shrine

Simple Shrine

Elaborate Shrine

Elaborate Shrine

All Buddhist traditions use a shrine as a reminder and focal point for meditation. It represents the Buddha, so offerings are placed on it.  Some traditions are more elaborate than others. The Tibetan, for example, is more ornate than the Zen or Theravadin.

The essentials in every tradition are as follows:

  • The right space. The best is a room (an attic is perfect) which is used for nothing else. Otherwise a quiet corner in a bedroom, sitting room or study is okay. Arrange it so it can be closed up or sectioned off when the room is used for other purposes. The shrine itself should be higher than one’s head when seated.
  • An image or representation of the Buddha. This is usually a statue, of the best quality one can afford.
  • Offerings of water, light, flowers and incense.

Types of Shrine

THERAVADIN: A simple Theravadin-style shrine is a single platform with a picture or image of the Buddha, flowers on either side, a set of candles in front and a pot of incense in front of that.

ZEN: A Zen shrine has an image of the Buddha at centre back; water and food offerings in bowls placed in front; incense in front of that, a candle (or light) on the right, flowers on the left .

TIBETAN: An elaborate Tibetan shrine has three levels.

  1. The highest has an image of the Buddha in the centre with an image of Guru Rinpoche (the Tantric Buddha of Tibet) on the left (as you stand facing the shrine), and Chenresig (the deity of compassion) on the right. A photo of one’s personal guru may be included here.
  2. The second level has dharma texts in the centre, a yidam such as Vajra Yogini on the left, and a protector (Mahakala) on the right. A bell and vajra and a stupa may be included here.
  3. At the lowest level are the seven offering bowls representing water (one for washing, one for drinking), flowers, incense, light, food and music. A mandala to represent an offering of the universe to the Buddhas is often placed here.